The Department of Oriental Studies at Princeton University was founded in 1927 as the Department of Oriental Languages and Literature by Professor Harold Bender, the department's first chairman. Though the original focus of the Department was the graduate study of Sanskrit and Indo-Germanic philology, by the 1950s the curriculum had expanded to include interdisciplinary programs in East Asian and Near Eastern studies for undergraduates. The name of the department was changed in the mid-1960s to the Department of Oriental Studies so as to reflect this broadened scope of teaching and research interests, however in 1969 the Department was dissolved and independent East Asian and Near Eastern studies departments were instituted in its place.
From the description of Department of Oriental Studies records, 1940-1966. (Princeton University Library). WorldCat record id: 84675356
